Lean blending a time

An innovative new service for food processors and other users of seasonings, including butchers and bakers, has been launched by Unbar Rothon. Called Lean Blending, it has been created by the third generation, Essex-based flavours house to cut administration, labour and storage costs for customers whilst guaranteeing food safety.

Unbar Rothon uses its purchasing muscle to deliver keen prices and manages stock levels to avoid shelf life expiry and waste issues for users of many slower-moving or minor ingredients.

The company mixes the precise blend required and delivers in individual batch packs (anything between 100g and 25 kilos) to the end user, thus minimising the use of space and operational costs such as storing, picking and weighing a multiplicity of minor ingredients is rendered unnecessary.

A big attraction for end users in a selective test market was the peace of mind generated by Unbar Rothon’s shouldering of the responsibility for food safety, legality and quality issues through its assessment of all raw materials used and by its worldwide early-warning problem scanning service.

Customers also appreciated the reduction in administration generated as a result of an order for a single, pre-blended product replacing multiple orders for a lot of minor ingredients.

“We have streamlined processes for customers so they no longer have to blend their own seasonings. That reduces the dangers of cross contamination and our batch packaging service is a further benefit that reduces the associated risks even further,” said Unbar Rothon director, Richard

A trump card for the company proved to be its quality guarantee which is based in part on a refusal to spot buy in favour of consistently sourcing from regular suppliers who understand the company’s requirement for reliable, consistent, top quality products.

Sausages sucesses with premium seasonings

One of the UK’s leading flavours houses has helped three sausage makers to achieve success in annual competitions. Serial winners Solent Butchers collected a Magnificent Seven BPex awards after collaborating with Essex-based family seasoning’s company Unbar Rothon on an expanded range of sausages.

Three of the awards were gold – for the best innovative sausage and for both speciality and traditional pork sausages. Silver certificates went to two healthy eating pork sausages and for traditional Cumberland and Lincolnshire sausages.

Further joint development is now taking place, based on Unbar’s new premium Butchers Pride range of seasonings, as Portsmouth-based Solent seeks to produce even better bangers.

Managing director Mark Cristofoli said his company’s five years association with Unbar had helped Solent expand its business with quality products in both the profit and cost sectors of food service.

“Unbar has helped us give our customers what they want and in doing so we have developed unique sausages which are our own,” he said.

Principally in the BPex competitions, the flavours house saw one of its leading manufacturing customers collect seven awards – four of them gold.

Unbar general manager Richard Rothon has also celebrated the success of another customer in winning “Britain’s Best Sausage” competition.